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Welkin Warrens
Welkin Warrens is one of the regions found in Warrior Epic. Background "Knowledge is Power", or so sing the bards; and power, they say, tends toward corruption. Yet even when wielded with kindness and wisdom, power has ever attracted covetous eyes and half-drawn blades, ever seeking to steal, disrupt, or destroy. Such was the fate of the Welkin Ark Repository and the slaughtered Monks who strove to protect it. In the end, power had indeed corrupted, and their knowledge and wisdom fell into an age of darkness. But it was not always so. Long before the Kingdom of Providence arose to rekindle the flame of civilization from the ashes of the Age of Chaos, a glorious temple to the achievements of Humanity was raised by unknown hands deep within the mountain range now called Welkin. Its true origin lost in antiquity, the Ark Repository was a fabled way point for sages, saints, and scholars alike, for therein the Right Ordered Brothers of Convergence made available to all comers scrolls, artifacts, machinations and designs from around the known world, seeking only to expand universal knowledge and understanding. The good Brothers were not content to merely safeguard the dusty relics of bygone eras, however; the fertile intellectual landscape sired unparalleled innovation and achievement. In time the monks became so adept at heightening the minds of others with spell and science that even the once-dumb creatures of the wilderness had risen to a harmonious coexistence with the humans of the Repository. Some had even learned to speak. Nowadays it is common to see bears that "dance" in pathetic hops at carnivals for coppers; the corners of this world are full of these sad creatures. But it is less common that they dance well, even willingly, or that badgers play musical instruments for them, whilst wolves sing along in voices laced with all-too-human words. And thus it was that the Welkin Ark, once known only to the learned few who wandered forgotten paths seeking knowledge, became known to the Others. Spies of neighboring kingdoms reported vast repositories of unguarded spells and devices that could easily be turned to more... profitable... uses than the mere education of sages and squirrels. And that the animals themselves could prove a ready-made workforce - or army - once properly reeducated through whip and fire. Armies should gather - soon - to ensure "protection" for the foolish Monks, lest the knowledge fall into the wrong hands. But the Monks were no fools; even as rival factions clashed at the base of their mountainous retreat they knew the time of darkness was coming, and so sealed the great artifacts deep within secret ways beneath the mountains; tunnels and vaults constructed for just such a day. And to the Heightened Beasts they gave a single command: Guard and Protect until Enlightenment returns. The Age of Chaos had come; the victorious armies overran and desecrated the Grounds of the Ark in search of slaves and plunder, but found only empty shelves and the cooling copses of the dedicated Brothers, who had taken their own lives to protect their greatest secret. While historic records end here, some travelers have reported sightings of odd animals in the remnants of the Ark’s former location. But ghosts are said to haunt the place, and few stay long. The last known expedition to recover the lost artifacts and research the Welkin creatures was made but five years previous, by members of the infamous Gideon Dwellers cult. The sole survivor was discovered at the mountain's base, gibbering and rantingly insane... even for a Gideon. http://www.warriorepic.com/en/environments/welkin-warrens Map Places Inhabitants See also Category:Locations